Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a former Nigerian international footballer, a Europe-based businessman, and a Mozambique-based bar attendant for their involvement in separate drug trafficking attempts at Lagos and Enugu airports.
At Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, NDLEA officers apprehended Ntoruka Emmanuel Chinedu on June 24, 2025, after discovering 37 wraps of cocaine weighing 800 grammes hidden in his carry-on bag. Chinedu, known for importing clothes from Turkey and exporting Nigerian food items, had flown in from Turkey via Ethiopian Airlines. Investigations revealed he collected the drugs during a stopover in Addis Ababa before continuing to Nigeria.
Further checks led to the arrest of former professional footballer, Segun George Hunkarin, who was waiting at the airport car park to receive the drugs. Hunkarin, who spent years playing football in Brazil, confessed to trafficking drugs twice from Brazil to Ethiopia but denied ever bringing them into Nigeria. NDLEA operatives said his confession indicated a history of international drug movements.
In a separate operation at the same airport on June 27, 2025, NDLEA intercepted Europe-based businessman, Amen Okoro Godstime, who attempted to smuggle 5,000 tramadol pills disguised as malaria medications such as Lonart, Amatem, and Aluktem. Okoro, who manages a freight and logistics business between Europe and Nigeria, was travelling to Spain via Casablanca on a Royal Air Maroc flight. He claimed he intended to transport the drugs from France to Italy after arriving in Spain and taking a train home.
On the same day, NDLEA operatives at Akanu Ibiam International Airport (AIIA), Enugu, arrested Ezenwaka Chibuzor Emmanuel, a Mozambique-based bar attendant. During a routine search, officers found 17 parcels of methamphetamine weighing 17.5 kilogrammes and three parcels of cocaine weighing 3.05 kilogrammes concealed in bedsheets inside his luggage. The 38-year-old suspect arrived from Johannesburg, South Africa, via Addis Ababa on an Ethiopian Airlines flight before his arrest.
The NDLEA says it remains committed to dismantling drug trafficking networks across Nigeria’s airports to safeguard public health and national security.
